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Fearing a Smallpox Epidemic, Civil War Soldiers Tried to Self-Vaccinate
Although they fought on opposite sides, the Union and Confederate forces shared a common enemy: smallpox. At the battle of Chancellorsville, fought May of 1862, nearly 5,000 Confederate troops were...
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The Interesting Life of Erik Weisz, Famously Known as the ‘The Great Harry...
Erik Weisz, famoulsy known as The Great Harry Houdini is one the most famous illusionists and stunt performers that ever lived. He is celebrated for his sensational escape acts that earned him the...
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Babies Were Used to Be Placed in Cages, Suspended 10 or so Floors Above...
In 1884, Luther Emmett Holt wrote of the importance of “airing” out babies in his book titled “The Care and Feeding of Children”. This claim spun what is perhaps one of the strangest inventions of the...
View ArticleCivil War Veterans Come Together One Last Time at Gettysburg, 1938
In 1938, Civil War veterans gathered together for the Battle of Gettysburg’s 75th anniversary. The gathering included approximately 25 Gettysburg battle veterans and had totals of 1,359 Federal and 486...
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The Maori Preserved Heads That Were Used in Sacred Ceremonies But Also as...
Mokomokai, the Maori preserved heads, are one of the most valuable artifacts of the indigenous people of New Zealand that survive to this day. The preserved heads with faces decorated by tā moko...
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Four Penny Coffin Was One of The First Homeless Shelters in Victorian England
Homeless shelters are nowadays widespread social features, and many organizations worldwide try to make life easier for the poor and the needy. Homelessness has been a persistent problem of the past as...
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Man Punched a Hole Through $10-Million Monet Painting Displayed in a Gallery
In 2012, 49-year-old Andrew Shannon visited the National Gallery Ireland and shocked the other visitors by punching a Claude Monet masterpiece. The piece of art is valued at $10 million. Shannon was...
View ArticleLetter From the Front: Perez Drinkwater
Perez Drinkwater was from Portland, Maine (then part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). He served as a lieutenant on Lucy – a privateer schooner – during the War of 1812. Towards the end of 1813,...
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Brushy Bill Roberts: The Man Who Claimed to be Billy the Kid (They Both Had...
History tells us that outlaw Billy the Kid (aka Henry McCarty, aka William Bonney) was gunned down —when he was just 21 years old— by Sheriff Pat Garrett on July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico....
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40 Eerie Portraits of Children Taken by Lewis Carroll in the 19th Century
Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles L. Dodgson, author of the children’s classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Besides writing, Carroll created a number of fine...
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When Self-Electrocution Was Used To Cure What Ails You
The hydro-electric belt first appeared at the World’s Fair in London in 1851. It was comprised of several batteries and electrodes and was used to “cure” everything by sending an electric current...
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Princess Angeline: When the Settlers Arrived, She Refused to Leave Her Home...
In 1895, American photographer Edward S Curtis took his first portrait of a Native American subject – a wrinkled elderly woman with a red handkerchief; he paid her a dollar for the trouble. Later on,...
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Castrati Singers: Boys Were Castrated To Keep Their Voices at a Higher Pitch
In the 17th and 18th century the church banned women singers from performing in church music or on stage. This led to the castration of boys as a way to keep their voices at a higher pitch. Boy singers...
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The Nine Mile Canyon: The World’s Longest and Oldest ‘Art Gallery’
The Nine Mile Canyon in the Utah desert, Western United States, is known as “the world’s longest art gallery” because it is filled with thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs, some over a thousand...
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This U.S. President Regularly Bought Slaves With His Own Money So He Can Set...
James Buchanan was the 15th President of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. His presidency was considered by many historians a failure since his efforts to maintain peace between the North...
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J.M. Barrie’s Selfless Act and the Tragic Story of the Five Boys Who Inspired...
The story of Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t grow up, has become a quintessential part of popular culture; it is an enduring element of every childhood. Scottish author and playwright J.M. Barrie came...
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For 75 Years a Mysterious Man Visited Edgar Allan Poe’s Grave, Poured Himself...
Edgar Allan Poe, died under mysterious circumstances on October 7th of 1849 when he was only 40 years old. He was a very prolific author; he left behind a legacy of exceptional stories and poems that...
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French Postman Spent 30 Years Building a Palace Made of Pebbles
The story of the Ideal Palace began in 1879. One day, while walking his mail route, French mail carrier Ferdinand Cheval was distracted by a strange-shaped stone that he tripped over. “I was walking...
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A Love Story: J.R.R. Tolkien Proposed to His Wife By Mail, Not Knowing She...
By all accounts, famous writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and his wife, Edith, had a close and happy marriage. They were married for 55 years, with Edith following Tolkien wherever his life took him....
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The Hole-in-the-Wall: The Perfect Hideout For the Old West Gangs
The Old West, or the Wild West, is one of the most romanticized periods in American history. The period occurred when settlers and pioneers attempted to populate the territories west of the Mississippi...
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